China and India have reached an agreement to de-escalate tensions at their disputed border region and end a four-year military standoff. According to BBC, the disputed Himalayan border has witnessed violent clashes in recent years. However, the two Asian nations seek to normalize relations as the BRICS Summit in Russia approaches this week. India and China agree to de-escalate border tensions https://t.co/D3UWE6EPTu — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 21, 2024 Per BBC: Vikram Misri said on Monday the two sides have agreed on “disengagement and resolution of issues in these [border] areas that had arisen in 2020”. He was referring to the Galwan Valley clashes – the first fatal confrontation between the two sides since 1975, in which both sides suffered casualties. Relations between the neighbours have been strained since then. “An agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020,” Mr Misri said. Mr Misri, however, did not give any details about the disengagement process and whether it would cover all points of conflict along the disputed border. The Indian foreign secretary’s statement comes just a day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Russia for a meeting of Brics nations which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Mr Misri didn’t confirm if a bilateral meeting between Mr Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was on the agenda. The BRICS Summit will take place in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24. The event will include the five namesake countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and the first meeting for new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Breaking! China and India have reached an agreement to de-escalate along the border just ahead of BRICS summit. Border patrols will pull back and disengage to avoid clashes pic.twitter.com/Fb1O63lKi6 — Carl Zha (@CarlZha) October 21, 2024 From The New York Times: BRICS now includes countries representing almost half the world’s population and more than 35 percent of global economic output, adjusted by purchasing power. The conference is intended to present a hefty showcase of economic might but also entice new countries into a coalition Russia hopes to build that would form a new world order not dominated by the West. “This summit is about Putin punching back,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin. Mr. Putin presents his country’s war in Ukraine as “the spearhead of destroying the old world order and helping to build a new one,” Mr. Gabuev said. “And BRICs is the most potent and representative structure of this new world order,” he added. That was a message Mr. Putin emphasized at a meeting of officials and businessmen last week in Moscow ahead of the summit. WATCH: What to expect from the #BRICS2024 Summit in Kazan, Russia The 16th BRICS summit will take place in Kazan, Russia on October 22-24, marking a significant expansion for the bloc. Key Highlights: Expansion: The summit will be the first with the newly admitted… pic.twitter.com/ERLmSjTktm — John Metzner (@JohnRMetzner) October 21, 2024 BREAKING India and China officially ended the 4-year conflict on the Himalayan border Peace was achieved on the eve of the BRICS Summit, clearing the path for Modi and Xi Jinping to hold the first bilateral meeting since 2020 pic.twitter.com/HLijFlltRA — What the media hides. (@narrative_hole) October 21, 2024 Reuters reports: Relations between the world’s two most populous nations – both nuclear powers – have been strained since clashes between their troops on the largely undemarcated frontier in the western Himalayas left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020. The two sides had since stopped patrolling several points along the border in the Ladakh region to avoid new confrontations, while moving tens of thousands of new troops and military equipment closer to the freezing highlands. “We reached an agreement on patrolling, and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020 and we can say … the disengagement process with China has been completed,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a NDTV media conclave. The “understanding was reached only today,” he said, adding: “We always said that if you disturb the peace and tranquillity how can the rest of the relationship go forward?” To avoid clashes, the two militaries will patrol contested points along the border according to an agreed schedule, a senior Indian military officer aware of the details told Reuters.